EP 0 520 047 B1 (P 7129) discloses an ABS control device, which is comprised of movable, elastically retained valve coils in an electronic housing according to the principle of a so-called ‘magnetic plug’. The electronic unit (ECU) with integrated printed circuit board and the valve coils connects to a valve block (HCU) in a slip-on manner, which comprises the valve domes and further hydraulic components of the brake aggregate. The ECU further comprises an integrated plug for connection of a connecting cable (e.g. wheel sensor cable). Control devices according to this principle have become generally accepted in the automotive industry and are therefore commonly used for a variety of control tasks (e.g. ABS, ESP, etc.) in motor vehicle brake systems.
As can be seen in DE 197 43 842 A1 (P 9117), it is also known in the art to mount cooling plates made of aluminum into ABS control devices for cooling the electronic components, with these cooling plates being generally connected in flat manner to the carrier plates that carry the electronic components and the conductive tracks. The controller housing, which is made of plastics in many cases, is frequently used as a mounting frame for the valve coils and as an accommodation of the electronic components including the unit composed of cooling plate and printed circuit board. In some cases, the lids of the controller housing are also made of a material with great thermal conductivity and the cooling plates have been moved into thermal contact with said housing already by way of corresponding heat conductive elements.
It has been a general objective to arrange the electronic components contained in the controller housings described in a way that saves mounting space to the best possible, while sufficient cooling of the components must be safeguarded. In addition, these housings must comply with the requirements of modern series production, that means, they must offer ease of manufacture at low cost, and be robust and reliable at the same time. These different requirements cannot always be satisfied easily and simultaneously.